Relative to plants and animals, the diversity and significance of fungi is little known. Yet fungi are vital in creating and stabilising soils, nourishing and interconnecting plants, recycling nutrients, retaining and filtering water, restoring environmental damage and essentially underpinning ecosystem health and resilience.
This workshop, led by acclaimed mycologist Alison Pouliot, includes both an indoor session around a specimen table followed by a field foray. The workshop introduces participants to the diversity of the Kingdom Fungi and the basic principles of fungus identification and fungal ecology.
You’ll learn how to identify fungi using the senses, field guides and other resources. In particular, we will explore the functional roles of fungi in various ecosystem types and different approaches to incorporating them in conservation, land management, biodiversity monitoring and bush regeneration.
Even when fungi aren’t producing mushrooms, their ‘tracks and traces’ are present in the environment. We’ll examine various habitat types like old wood, living trees and soils to look for clues of the processes and functions performed by fungi in the environment. What do they tell us about tree and ecosystem health? Which are indicators of old growth?
And how do fungi respond to fire, soil compaction and other environmental stresses? You’ll get to do the detective work to ‘read’ the environment through a fungal lens!
Participants are welcome to bring fungus specimens to the workshop for identification.
Tickets: $60
Bookings: events.humanitix.com/fungi25
We have two fungi workshops with Alison Pouliot at Wooragee over the 17 & 18 May weekend.
See the Humanitix listing for details and bookings of both.
This event is supported by Wodonga Urban Landcare Network, Wooragee Landcare group, and Mid Ovens Landcare Consortium, for their members and communities.
